Overworked and stressed

LegacyUser

I have a problem at work that's really getting to me lately. I'm finding myself overworked and has resulted in me becoming very stressed.

I'm in a managerial type role which I'm relatively new to having started last year. I've been with the company for a few years but this was an opportunity to advance and get more responsibility. But now I think I've bitten off more than I can chew.

I've been taking on a number of new projects for a while thinking that I was managing them okay. In reality I was just keeping my head over water, not realising the problems that would eventually crop up down the line. I'm at that point now where I've left too many things on the long finger and they're causing big issues, some of which I'm not sure I can fix. I'm a very hard worker and am never idle, but I just never realised that my procrastination would lead to this.

It's not procrastination in the bad sense, but more that everything is urgent in my business so if I end up dropping the non-urgent tasks and only return to them when they themselves become urgent. It's no way to operate and has led me to this point.

I spoke to my senior a few weeks ago about how I was feeling and how I felt everything was left to the last minute causing stress and anxiety. He appreciated where I was coming from but told me that it unfortunately was just part of the role. He asked me if I had too much on my plate and I foolishly said no thinking I would look bad if I said yes. I told him the problem was with everything being left too late so that it becomes a problem instead of something that could have easily been addressed early on.

I wake up every morning, and sometimes in the middle of the night, thinking about problems at work. It's a horrible feeling. I'm at a stage now where I think the only way out is to quit, even without another job lined up.

The only other alternative is to go to my manager and tell him I'm having problems on certain projects. I know the outcome though. He will expect me to work long hours trying to rectify everything that ultimately arose due to problems with the company management system, not looking after their workers. I have been working weekends for a number of weeks now and this weekend I've just thrown in the towel. No one else in my company is doing this and I'm not getting rewarded for it. The projects will suffer further, clients will be angry, it may cost the company money, but maybe that's the only way they'll take notice of the stress I'm under.

I feel lost at sea at the moment and it's severely affecting my mental health. What should I do?

antix80

Hi. Given your username it sounds like you're the same age and at the same stage in your career as i was when i had a breakdown 2 years into a job.. I might have been ok if I walked, but i started on antidepressants and it just delayed a 2nd breakdown including physical problems like tinnitus.

And.. Then the company had an accounting scandal, started laying people off, key staff left due to the impossible workload and better opportunities elsewhere, the company went bankrupt, and the ceo was done for fraud... And i wondered why i ever tried to make it work.

I'm 4 years into my current job with a few promotions (i went in at a low level to rejoin the workforce after having to leave my last job).. And a lot of my time is spent less on an unmanageable workload and constantly taking on new tasks, and more on doing my job according to my job spec and managing my work life balance. Im conscientious so it's tough.

Your manager will push you til you break, because you take the strain and not him.

So.. Assume for a minute the situation is not sustainable and you're going to leave anyway.

You'll probably want to stick to a 9 to 5, because you won't get thanks for working any later when you have to leave.

You'll assume you can only work on one thing at a time, so you'll ask your manager what's his priority. That way, when the second thing doesn't get done on time, you can remind him he prioritised the other item. Or was non commital, so you chose one item over the other (make sure it's documented) for a good reason.

You'll do a brief root cause analysis as to where problems occur, so you can enable your manager to escalate as required. If he doesn't work with his counterpart and doesn't escalate the issue, it's on him..

Also... Counselling.
If your work pays for 6 counselling sessions even better. If not, consider it an investment in yoyr personal development.

Take annual leave if you need to. Take sick leave if you run out of annual leave. But def take a few days off when you begin counselling.

manor

If the companies reaction is that it is part if the role, your work situation will not improve, I have dealt with this from both sides, people feel it is a sign of weakness if they go out on stress, I do not, it us a sign of strength to decide to evaluate, , have a chat with your doctor, you will be amazed what a few weeks break will do for you and your self esteem. It will also give the company space to evaluate. Best if luck.

Xterminator

Hi Op

you have one life to live. If this affect your physically, and straightening out other peoples messes is considered part of the job, and working long hours etc is part and parcel, then perhaps your current employer leaves a bit to be desired?

Could you simply find another job? not tomorrow, but start looking out, networking , and refresh your CV.
Failing that how about moving role internally.

HildaOgdenx

I wake up every morning, and sometimes in the middle of the night, thinking about problems at work. It's a horrible feeling. I'm at a stage now where I think the only way out is to quit, even without another job lined up.

'The only other alternative is to go to my manager and tell him I'm having problems on certain projects. I know the outcome though. He will expect me to work long hours trying to rectify everything that ultimately arose due to problems with the company management system, not looking after their workers. I have been working weekends for a number of weeks now and this weekend I've just thrown in the towel. No one else in my company is doing this and I'm not getting rewarded for it. The projects will suffer further, clients will be angry, it may cost the company money, but maybe that's the only way they'll take notice of the stress I'm under.
I feel lost at sea at the moment and it's severely affecting my mental health. What should I do?'

Your mental health has to come first, in my opinion. No job is worth it.

The nuclear option is to leave, and that may well be the right thing to do. I suppose it's worth bearing in mind that the jobs market may not be great, given the effects of COVID 19. And would these type of issues follow you, in a new role, or do you think it's the nature of this particular role / bad management by the company, that has caused them?

If you do speak to your manager, and the 'answer' is to work more hours, well it sounds like you are already doing that. So that would be no help.
But it might be worth having the conversation.

I agree with pp, I would take some time out. Talk to your GP, get some support also for your mental health. It may well be that you need to leave. As I said previously, no job is worth your health.

pwurple

He asked me if I had too much on my plate and I foolishly said no thinking I would look bad if I said yes.

Fix this. Go back, have that conversation again and say simply that you've considered what he asked, and yes, you DO have too much on your plate.
This makes it his problem.

I've done this, I've said , hey, manager, you've overloaded me here, things are slipping because it's too much for one person. Provide support, or watch it continue to slip.

Managing your workload is his job.

LegacyUser

The main problem is with one project where it was rushed because of stupid deadlines primarily from the client. Technically I had plenty of time for it all to be resolved before it became a problem, but the way my company seems to operate is that you're constantly fire fighting and just dealing with the problem at hand.

This one project has a huge knock on effect where day after day issues come up which distracts me from other work, which then causes that work to become a problem down the line. It's an endless cycle.

I'm contracted to do 37.5 hours a week but regularly I do 50+. That may not seem like a whole lot to some, but I am never going to work until midnight for some deadline no matter how busy I am. I'm not built to do that.

I'm at the point where I have so much to do that I don't even know where to start and end up wasting time. It all seems so pointless when I'm getting it from all sides.

Like I said before, if I tell him the that I'm overworked he'll tell me just to fix the problems no matter what it takes. Maybe he'll take some other work away from me, but the problems have already occurred and I have to fix them which makes me sick to my stomach. My whole reputation as a professional is being affected by this when clients see the cock ups.

Would it be crazy just to pack it in and take a career break for a few months? The thoughts of having to clean up the mess that's resulted is really depressing. I know if I was to walk away from it all my mind would be clear, but I may have a problem finding work elsewhere at the moment.